A review of methods for storage of corneas for keratoplastyPrasanta Kumar BasuApril-June 1995, 43(2):55-58PMID:8818310

This article reviews the various methods used for the storage of the donor cornea for keratoplasty. The methods have been classified in terms of the duration of storage as (a) short-term, (b) intermediate term (c) long-term and (d) very long-term.
The practical importance of the moist-chamber method of short-term storage has been discussed. A short report on a new intermediate-term corneal storage medium using steroid as a lysosome membrane stabilizer has also been included. Organ culture of corneas for long-term storage is not popular in the developing countries due to lack of appropriate storage facilities. Cryopreservation as a long-term storage technique still attracts researchers' attention.

A total of 50 infants of less than 2000 gm birth weight were screened for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) by binocular indirect ophthalmoscopy. The incidence of ROP was found in 19 patients (38%). Of these, 8 patients (16 eyes) had threshold disease. Significantly, occurrence of threshold ROP was seen in both 1600 gm birth weight in one infant and in the absence of oxygen administration in 2 infants. Ten of the 16 eyes underwent therapeutic intervention while 6 eyes did not receive treatment for lack of consent from the parents. The treatment consisted of indirect laser photocoagulation (8 eyes) and transconjunctival cryopexy (2 eyes). Good regression of the disease (favourable outcome) was noted in all the treated eyes.

Ocular lesions in AIDS: A report of first two cases in IndiaJyotirmay Biswas, HN Madhavan, SS BadrinathApril-June 1995, 43(2):69-72PMID:8818313

Although 444 cases of AIDS have been officially registered till July 1993 from various parts of India, ocular lesions in these cases have not been reported. Till May 1994, ELISA test for HIV 1 and HIV 2 had been done in 12 cases of suspicious ocular lesions which include viral retinitis, endogenous endophthalmitis and active chorioretinitis. Two patients had seropositivity for HIV 1. Ocular lesions include subretinal yellow mass in the first case and cytomegalovirus retinitis and cotton-wool spots in the second case. These two patients also had several systemic infections which include tuberculosis in both and nocardia in one. To the best of our knowledge, these two cases are the first report of ocular lesions in AIDS from India.

Viral retinitis is an important infectious disease of the retina which can occur in both healthy and immunocompromized or immunodef icient individuals. The clinical picture and the role of laboratory studies in diagnosis of viral retinitis are still not well-defined. We correlated the clinical picture and virologic study in the serum and vitreous specimens by Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELIS A), rapid immunofluorescence technique and culture in five clinically suspected patients of viral retinitis. None of the patients had any evidence of systemic viral infections. In four patients, the virus was detected by immunofluorescence, ELISA or culture from the vitreous sample. Paired serum samples showed elevation of antiviral IgG titre in two cases and high antiviral IgM titre in all cases. Our study evaluated the role of virological investigations of vitreous aspirate and rising antibody titre in the paired serum samples in the diagnosis of active viral retinitis.

To evaluate the effects of topical timolol on lipid profile, blood samples from 25 patients (16 males and 9 females) were analysed before topical instillation of 0.5% timolol maleate and thereafter at one month and two months. After two months of therapy, the level of high density lipoprotein (HDL) decreased significantly (p < 0.02). The levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and triglyceride increased but the changes were not statistically significant. Since low level of HDL is strongly associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction, our study cautions use of topical timolol in patients with low levels of HDL or with previous history of coronary heart disease.